Phil Green, former police chief for Corte Madera and Larkspur, dies at 72

Phil Green, the retired police chief of Corte Madera and Larkspur and one of the few Marin police officers to be shot in the line of duty, died Sunday while visiting family in Southern California. He was 72.

Green, who lived in Novato, retired as chief of the Twin Cities police force in 2010, ending a law enforcement career that spanned a half-century. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest-serving police chief in California.

His successor, Todd Cusimano, said Green had been in good health and died in his sleep.

"I think something unique about him (was) he considered every employee a member of his family," Cusimano said. "He really cared about us and we loved him back."

Green's survivors include his wife Christine, the town clerk of Corte Madera; two sons; a daughter; and numerous grandchildren. Funeral arrangements were pending.

Green started his career at the San Rafael Police Department in 1961. He was promoted to sergeant in 1967 and lieutenant in 1970.

In 1972, he was shot in the lower back during a gun battle that left a drug dealer dead in downtown San Rafael. Green was given last rites but returned to work several months later.

Green had other scrapes with extreme danger. In 1961, he shot a man who was firing a gun at a crowd of people from a Fourth Street gas station. In 1970, when he responded to the Civic Center shootout and hostage crisis involving several San Quentin inmates, one of the prisoners pointed a gun directly at Green.

"I didn't know why he didn't shoot," Green said. "I just put the car in reverse and backed up very slowly."

Also in 1972, a reckless driver forced him off the road and chased him through Novato with his wife and children in the car. Green shook the suspect off his tail and eventually helped Novato police make the arrest.

"Phil was great guy," said Tiburon police Chief Michael Cronin, who worked with Green in San Rafael in the 1970s. "He was a great guy to work with. He was one of those guys you knew you could depend on.

"He was one of those people that spanned a generational change in law enforcement. He went to college, got his degree, actually went on and got his graduate degree, which at that time wasn't all that common."

In 1977, Green beat nearly 100 candidates to become chief of the Corte Madera Police Department. Two years later, he took over the Larkspur Police Department as well, and in 1980 was named first chief of the consolidated Twin Cities Police Authority.

The department became the Central Marin Police Authority this year after merging with the San Anselmo Police Department.

Sheriff Robert Doyle recalled Green as a fun-loving person with a great sense of humor. Doyle, who started at the sheriff's department in 1969, said he nearly went to work for Green in Twin Cities.

"It's just sad that he didn't get to enjoy his retirement for a longer period of time," he said.